Ukitaka uvunguni sharti uiname
If you want something underneath [the bed] you must bend down
Mulla [Nasreddin] had lost his ring in the living room. He searched for it for a while, but since he could not find it, he went out into the yard and began to look there. His wife, who saw what he was doing, asked: “Mulla, you lost your ring in the room, why are you looking for it in the yard?” Mulla stroked his beard and said: “The room is too dark and I can’t see very well. I came out to the courtyard to look for my ring because there is much more light out here.”
- Retold by Houman Farzad, Translated from Persian by Diane L. Wilcox (1989)
[A police officer encountered a man groping about on his hands and knees]
“I lost a $2 bill down on Atlantic avenue,” said the man. “What’s that?” asked the puzzled officer. “You lost a $2 bill on Atlantic avenue? Then why are you hunting around here in Copley square?” “Because,” said the man as he turned away and continued his hunt on his hands and knees, “the light’s better up here.”
Mtaka cha mvunguni sharti ainame
One who wants something underneath [the bed] must stoop
1989, Classic Tales of Mulla Nasreddin, Retold by Houman Farzad, Translated from Persian by Diane L. Wilcox, Looking for the Missing Ring, Quote Page 26, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California. (Verified with scans by Quote Investigator; thanks to Stephen Goranson and Duke University library system)
1924 May 24, Boston Herald, Whiting’s Column: Tammany Has Learned That This Is No Time for Political Bosses, Quote Page
2, Column 1, Boston, Massachusetts.
Matone madogo ya maji,
Chembe kidogo za mchanga,
hutengeneza bahari kubwa
Na ardhi ya kupendeza
Vivyo hivyo zile dakika ndogo,
ingawa ni ndogo,
hutengeneza enzi za milele.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
- Brutus in Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3 by William Shakespeare
Chinese: 趁熱打鐵
Thai: ตีเหล็กเมื่อแดง
Hindi: लोहा गरम हैं. मार दो हथौड़ा.
Irish: buail an t-iarann te
Swahili: Fua chuma wakati kingali moto
Image: Elimu Yetu teachers visit to Shanga Foundation, Arusha, Tanzania
by Magreth Lazaro Mafie 🇹🇿 🏆 Proverb Essay Contest 🥉 Third Place Winner (English translation from Kiswahili)
I fear neither sun nor rain, making my tomorrow
I fear neither injuries nor pain, because all are temporary
Scorching sun and work are my custom, so that happiness comes in life
The street vendor, the farmer, the [port boys] and their fisherman and the sun, in search of tomorrow
One who works in the sun, eats in the shade, I am still searching for shade.
It's noon, the sun overhead, in my head I have the harvest, sweat is dripping,
The sun has set now, the oar on the beach, exhausted in bed, nets in the sea,
At home on fourth street, captain of the family, may I pull happiness from hard labor
Now the sun is rising, walking the path to look for a bite,
One who works in the sun, eats in the shade, I am still searching for shade.